Hanyou
by oORikutsuOo
Summary: What if Sakura wasn't a weak little girl who pined over Sasuke? What if she was a hanyou? Something other than human? And the only thing standing between Kohana and Orochimaru's plans of annihilation? Curious? Read to find out! Rated T for now. Rating may go up.
1. Beginnings

**Alright, so I'm starting this fanfiction ALL over again! My writing skills have improved and I have so many new ideas! So please dont kill me! Without further ado, chapter one! Beginnings!**

For her entire life, Sakura had been different.

Unlike her human peers, she was a hanyou. With white wolf ears, a tail, sharpened canines and enhanced senses, she frightened the humans. To them, she was nothing. Nothing but trouble. "Sakuraaaaaaa-chaaaaan!" a hyperactive blonde glomped the pink-haired hanyou. She flailed, taken off guard, and attempted to pry the fox boy off of her.

"Ack...! Naruto, get off!" she growled. He let her go with a grin. She could never understand how he could be so easy going around her. He didn't fear her. Didn't despise her. She supposed she should be glad. At least he saw her as an equal.

The same couldn't be said for Sasuke.

The Uchiha heir really didn't like anyone. He liked Sakura even less, and made it clear that he wasn't too happy about being on the same team with a hanyou and an 'idiot', as he called Naruto. "Sasuke-teme. You should be more nice to Sakura-chan!" the blond exclaimed. Sasuke didn't even bother looking at Naruto. He continued to stare at nothing, watching the road in front of them.

"Don't bother, Naruto." Sakura spoke up. So what if Sasuke didn't greet them? He had his reasons. Sakura knew them all too well.

"Kakashi-sensie is late. Again." the pinkette stated.

"He's always so late!" Naruto complained. Sasuke said nothing on the matter. A moment later, there was a poof of smoke and the silver-haired Jounin appeared.

"Yo." Kakashi greeted with a small wave.

_"You're late!"_ Naruto and Sakura chorused.

He put a hand to the back of his head, looking sheepish. "Sorry...I got lost on the road of life..." he began. The two cut him off.

"Liar!" they said together. Sasuke snorted, hiding his amusement.

"Alright, are you all ready for todays mission?" their teacher questioned. Naruto immediately began jumping up and down in excitement. "There's a missing cat and..."

"No! No! No!" Naruto whined loudly. "That's stupid! I want a real mission! I'm going to the Hokage!" before anyone could protest, the blonde took off. Kakashi sighed.

"Well...we better follow him."

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Naruto's complaining had paid off. Team seven was now on a mission to the Land of Waves. They were meant to escort an old bridge builder back to the said country. At first, man - Tazuna - didn't seem impressed. "These brats are supposed to protect me?" he scoffed with a wave of the beer bottle in his hand.

"Now, now..." Kakashi said. "I'm with them, and I'm a Jounin. My students are very capable. Everything will be fine."

With a grunt, Tazuna began walking. The team followed. They had been traveling for quite a while and it was hot. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. And Naruto was complaining again. He was also acting like a total fool. "Someone's there!" he shouted, throwing a kunai into the bushes. It turned out to be only a rabbit.

"Naruto, you baka!" Sakura hit the blonde on the head.

"Dobe." Sasuke snorted.

"Owowow...but someone really was there!" Naruto whined, rubbing his sore head. Kakashi turned his sharp gaze away from his bickering students to look at a rain puddle. Why was there a puddle when it hadn't rained that day? Just as Kakashi realized the conclusion, two ninja armed with wicked-looking weapons appeared, attacking Tazuna! Kakashi stopped them, but was suddenly surrounded by a spiked chain. "Kakashi-sensie!" Naruto gasped in horror as his teacher was apparently ripped apart. While the blonde stood there, frozen to the spot, one of the ninja went after him. The other went for Tazuna again.

"What's the matter? Scardy cat." Sasuke grinned at Naruto as he kicked the ninja after him away.

"Tazuna!" Sakura stood in front of the bridge builder as the second ninja raced towards them. She held out a kunai, ready to defend the man. A flash of blue blurred her vision and her eyes widened. "Sasuke-kun?"

He looked back, startled that she'd added the affix to his name before turning and blocking the ninja, forcing him back. Sakura blinked. Why had she called him that? Suddeny, Kakashi reappeared and knocked the two ninja out easily. Naruto whooped. "Kakashi-sensie!" he beamed.

"Sorry about that..." the Jounin drawled. "I didn't expect you to freeze up like that, Naruto." he looked at Sasuke. "Good job, Sasuke. Sakura." he nodded at the pinkette. Then, he turned to face Tazuna. "Bridge builder...you have some explaining to do." Kakashi stalked towards the distraught man.

"I'm sorry!" Tazuna exclaimed. "But I don't have the money to pay for an A ranked mission!" he pleaded, wringing his hands nervously. "We are a poor country..." A ranked? Sakura gave a start. They were only Gennin! An A ranked mission was way beyond their level!

"I'm sure if you had explained, someone would have helped you." Kakashi said.

"No...no one would. You see...the one after me is Zabuza Mamochi.."

Kakashi tensed. "The rouge in the Bingo Book?" he asked lowly. Tazuna nodded vigorously, and the silver-haired man gave a low curse.

"Who is Zabuza?" Sakura spoke up, stepping forward.

Kakashi turned to look at his students solemnly. "A powerful rouge ninja that you may not be ready to face..."

Naruto became determined. "We can too, Kakashi-sensie! We can do this!" he shouted.

"Naruto, this is not like any other mission!" Sakura snapped upon seeing his excited look. "This is much more dangerous and we could die. It is highly possible that we are no match for such an opponet."

"Yet, you still want to go." Sasuke glanced at her, a smirk on his face.

Sakura blinked, surprised that he had noticed. "I do." she nodded.

"I suppose there's no changing your minds..." Kakashi began. All three of his students vehemently agreed. They could not and would not be swayed. They would protect Tazuna to the end. "Alright," Kakashi drawled, looking over at Tazuna. "It seems you have lucked out. We will still follow our mission and we will help you." he announced.

Tazuna sighed in relief. "Thank you."

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Zabuza Mamochi was a rouge ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist. He specialized in the silent killing technique and currently worked for a wealthy Dyamo named Gato, who didn't want Tazuna building the bridge because Gato would lose his total control over the Land of Waves. Thus, the Dyamo had been sending assassins after the bridge builder. Luckily for him, Team 7 decided to help him. Kakashi was truly kind-hearted, though Sakura thought that his duty to his village overrode his sense of compassion.

She'd been wrong.

They continued on, escorting Tazuna back to his village. Everything was going well until a very large man with a very large sword attacked. It was Zabuza! Since the ninja before had failed, the rouge had come to take down the bridge builder himself. Kakashi took Zabuza on, but was soon captured within his water cage. Through teamwork, however, Naruto and Sasuke freed their sensie, and the copy nin proceeded to bring Zabuza down. **(Ya'll know what happened. If not, go watch Naruto!) **Suddenly, a senbon flew out of nowhere and impaled Zabuza in the neck.

"I'm sorry to have caused you any trouble." the apparent tracker nin said as he hoisted Zabuza onto his shoulder. With no pulse on the rouge, Kakashi seemed convinced that Zabuza was dead, although inwardly, he was suspicious.

Sakura disagreed. He didn't _smell_ dead.

No point in arguing. At least they wouldn't be fighting Zabuza anymore. The group continued on. Tazuna's village was now only a mere boat ride away, but they had to be quiet. "Gato is always trying to stop us." the bridge builder explained. If he caught them, then it'd probably be all over. Once they arrived, Kakashi decided to give them a little training lesson, despite being injured. He told them what he suspected; that Zabuza wasn't really dead. So for their lesson, they had to climb trees without using their hands. Only their feet. This was accomplished with chakra. Sakura easily mastered the technique, and she and Kakashi left Naruto and Sasuke to it. They were exhausted by the time they returned, but still managed to engage in an impromptu eating contest, making themselves sick.

_"Idiots."_ Sakura thought. "Don't eat so much if you're just going to be sick!" she scolded them. As usual, they paid her no mind. Eventually, everyone decided to go to sleep. They had a big day tomorrow. In the morning, they all were to help with the construction of the bridge. With them around, the workers would feel safe enough to work. So when morning came, they all headed out.

Sasuke was taking the brick that Sakura was handing him when he heard her begin to growl lowly. He turned to look at her. "What is it?" he asked.

"I smell him. Zabuza." she replied. His gaze hardened. Before either of them could say anything more, a thick fog rolled over the bridge and sent all of the workers running for home. Zabuza was attacking. He wasn't dead after all, just like Sakura and Kakashi had suspected.

"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke! Protect Tazuna!" Kakashi ordered, and instantly, all three of them surrounded the bridge builder, weapons drawn.

Zabuza's voice floated around them, listing off vital points while his killing intent pressed over them. _"Do you know how many vital spots there are in the body...?" _Zabuza's voice floated through the mist and echoed around them. He knew _all_ the vital spots? Sakura shivered as his voice came again, sickly sweet and calm. _"There's the heart...the lungs...the liver...the kidneys...the spine...the brain..."_

"Sakura, can you hear where he's at? Or smell him?" Sasuke's quite voice whispered close to the hanyou's ear.

She strained her senses. "No..." she muttered, scowling. "The fog is to thick. Sasuke, I can't sense anything...it doesn't feel good." she held back a whimper, not used to not being able to use her senses. She knew he had heard her, but was surprised when looked over at her, his eyes trying to offer reassurance.

"Ohoh, look." the Zabuza chuckled as he appeared. "That one's still trembling."

Sasuke's grip on his weapon tightened. "I'm trembling...in excitement!" he shouted, launching himself at Zabuza, surprising him. He managed to force Zabuza back, but the rouge was still much better than him.

"Looks like you have a rival, Haku." Zabuza said.

A figure appeared from the mist. It was the tracker nin from before. "You work with him?!" Naruto yelled, pointing. Haku ignored the blonde, his attention fixed on Sasuke as he replied to Zabuza.

"It seems that I do."

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Haku and his ice mirrors were winning. Sakura could see that just as plainly as Kakashi could see that Zabuza would go for Tazuna if the Jounin went to help Sasuke and Naruto. They needed to do something! They couldn't just stand there and wait for that cross-dressing hick to kill their comrades! Sakura frowned and looked at Kakashi. Feeling her gaze, the silver-haired man turned to glance at her. She flicked her tail and deliberately walked away from Tazuna, heading for the ring of ice mirrors.

Kakashi got the message. She would do what she could to help Sasuke and Naruto, and he would stay behind and protect Tazuna.

Neither of the boys had a weapon to use against Haku, so Sakura pulled out a kunai. "Sasuke!" she shouted, throwing it in between the mirrors and towards the Uchiha. For a moment, a bit of hope glinted in his eyes as he stood to catch the kunai, but Haku's hand shot out, catching the blade, and Sasuke stared, motionless. "Dammit!" Naruto cursed. Haku was just too fast in these mirrors!

Turning his attention to Sakura, Haku said, "Well, look at this. A half-breed come to rescue her friends, even though she's too young to access her true form or to be of much use."

"Like hell I'm of no use!" Sakura snarled, flattening her wolf ears back and baring her fangs at the ninja.

"Oh? Are you sure about that?" Haku asked mockingly.

Then, he let loose a barrage of senbon that headed straight for Sasuke.

**There we go! The first re-done chapter!**

**I will be re-doing them one by one, so keep an eye out. Please, let me know how I'm doing with this new and improved Hanyou!**


	2. Shatter

**Here's chapter two! I hope this is going a lot better than my first attempt at writing a multi-chapter fanfic.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. :c**

RECAP

Turning his attention to Sakura, Haku said, "Well, look at this. A half-breed come to rescue her friends, even though she's too young to access her true form or to be of much use."

"Like hell I'm of no use!" Sakura snarled, flattening her wolf ears back and baring her fangs at the ninja.

"Oh? Are you sure about that?" Haku asked mockingly.

Then, he let loose a barrage of senbon that headed straight for Sasuke.

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Sakura never knew that she could feel such rage. It boiled through her blood, blurring her vision and coloring everything red. Faintly, she could hear herself screaming, but there wasn't any way to stop it. Cold fire filled her veins. What was happening? Why did it feel like every inch of her body was on fire?

"What? She's way to young!" Haku watched in fear as the pink-haired hanyou's form began to change. She was on hand and knees, her bones snapping and crackling as they rearranged themselves into the form of a canine. Sakura couldn't hear anything above the ringing in her own ears. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for pain to end. When it did, she opened her eyes to see that her view of the world had changed. There was no color.

_"What?"_ she though, blinking to clear her vision. It stayed the same. She turned her head to discover that she was standing on four legs! She had transformed into a wolf!

"There's no way!" Haku said again, but this time, his voice wasn't filled with fear. It had gained a hard edge, and he looked at Sakura with frosty eyes. On the ground, Sasuke lifted his head to see the now snow white wolf standing there, looking a bit lost. That was Sakura? Suddenly, she threw back her head and howled. The eerie note dragged through the stillness, and the ring of ice mirrors shattered into pieces. Naruto took the chance to go and help Kakashi with Zabuza.

Haku dropped to the ground.

Sakura's emerald gaze tracked him as he stood and slowly began to circle her, looking for an opening. She bared her fangs, a snarl ripping from her throat, and he paused. She was intimidating him, and it was working. Sakura took a step, and before Haku could think twice about it, he'd taken a step back. The white wolf saw this retreat and lunged for his throat. With a curse, Haku leaped to the side, kicking out at Sakura and catching her in the side, even as she attempted to twist away. A blaze of pain flared over her ribs, but she ignored it, lunging for him again. This time, he had to throw an arm up between his throat and her jaws. Despite having a wolf's fangs ripping into his arm, Haku still managed to pull out some senbon and impale them into her flank.

Yelping, she dropped back, limping painfully. "S-Sakura..!" Sasuke struggled to sit up, but found that he could hardly move. Neither she nor Haku paid the Uchiha any mind. They were focused entirely on only each other.

Haku stood up, wincing at his torn arm. "You'll pay for that, mutt." he said darkly to Sakura. She bared her fangs in response. The fight continued, each becoming more and more weary. But a wolf's stamina was much greater than a humans, and soon, Haku was taken off guard. Sakura buried her fangs in the boy's throat. It was over. It seemed that Naruto and Kakashi had finished their fight, as well, for they both made their way over, Tazuna trailing behind. Sakura looked up, Haku's blood staining her snowy muzzle crimson.

"Wow! Look at you, Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully, looking amazed. She growled at him, and Kakashi put a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Naruto...I believe you're talking to the wolf and not Sakura." he said.

"What?" Naruto looked confused. "But Sakura turned _into_ a wolf!"

Sasuke spoke up, coughing. "Dobe...Sakura isn't thinking like Sakura while she's a wolf." he wheezed. That seemed to make more sense, and Naruto looked at the white wolf again.

"So what do we do, then?" he asked.

"Nothing." Kakashi told him. "I assume that she will return to her human form eventually." As if on cue, Sakura's form began to change, the bones returning to that of a human's frame. She sighed and rubbed at her eyes.

"That was so...weird, but cool." she muttered, half to herself and half to her teammates. A cloak settled over her shoulders and she looked up to see Kakashi standing there. He looked amused, if the crinkling of his visible eye was any indication.

"Let's remember to bring extra clothes for you, so from now on when you shift while still wearing them, you have something else to wear." the Jounin said to her.

Comprehension dawned in her green eyes and she flushed a bright red. "Oh." was all that she managed to say. She made sure that the cloak was secured around her before going over to Sasuke. Seeing him in such a state, she couldn't help herself, and ended up throwing her arms around him. "I'm sorry! I wasn't able to stop him in time!" she held back a sob.

"Sakura...you're hurting me." he choked out, and she quickly let him go.

"Sorry.." she said again.

He let out a breath and shook his head slightly. "It's fine."

"Yeah, it's not your fault, Sakura-chan." said Naruto. She bit her lip and frowned.

"It is. So I'll heal you." at her words, Naruto and Kakashi looked surprised. "Before you ask, yes I can heal, but it's not perfect and it costs a lot of chakra," she looked down at Sasuke. "So you better be grateful!" she told him sternly. He managed a weak snort of amusement. Swiftly removing all the senbon, Sakura placed her hands on him and began to heal him before he could even protest.

"You should heal yourself." the Uchiha stated quietly, pushing her hands away, but she was stubborn, shaking her head and continuing to heal him. By the time that she had reached the wounds on his arms, her chakra began to flicker, and it was then that Sasuke forcefully pushed her hands away and sat up. "Sakura, I'm fine now." She nodded and moved to stand up, but her legs buckled underneath her, and Sasuke quickly gained his feet, sweeping the pink-haired hanyou up into his arms. She had hardly registered this before she was soon in a deep sleep.

Naruto jumped up and down, shouting in concern, "Is she okay?!"

"Yeah," Sasuke replied. "She's just asleep." He watched as Kakashi stepped forward.

"Here, I'll take her." he said, but Sasuke shook his head. "You sure?"

Scowling, the Uchiha shot his teacher an annoyed look before glancing back down at the girl in his arms. He didn't know it, but his gaze softened just a bit. "Yes, I'm sure." he told Kakashi. "I've got her."

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"Are you sure she's ok, Sasuke-teme?" a hushed whisper reached Sakura's sensitive wolf ears. Her eyes were still shut, as she was just starting to drift into the waking world. She knew that voice. It was Naruto. At least he was whispering and not being a loudmouth as usual.

"Hn."

The responding grunt told her that Sasuke was probably ignoring the impatient blond to the best of his abilities. This thought made Sakura inwardly smile. She struggled her way to awareness, forcing herself to wake up and chase off the darkness of sleep. Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up, yawning. Pain shot through her hip and she stifled a gasp, her yawn cut off. Both boys were instantly standing at the bedside. "Sakura-chan! Are you alright?" Naruto practically shouted as he moved closer. She flinched at the loud tone of his voice. So much for him trying to be quiet... Sasuke, noticing her flinch, threw an arm in front of the blonde, pushing him back.

"You're too loud, dobe." he muttered, eyes on the pinkette. Sakura gave him a grateful look as Naruto calmed down with a nod. Just then, the door opened. Kakashi peered in, his expression glad when he saw that Sakura was sitting up and awake.

"Oh, Sakura. You're awake…good, get ready to go. We're leaving in two hours, okay?" he looked at Naruto. "You. I need your help, c'mon."

"Alright, Kakashi-sensie!" Naruto said, following him out. Before he shut the door, he turned and grinned at Sasuke. It was mischievous and daring. Sakura wondered why he was grinning like that. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, teme." he grinned. Oh, so naruto was hinting that maybe they would do something now that they were alone?

_"What a baka!"_ Sakura thought, annoyed. Since when had the fox boy started thinking like that? Sasuke rolled his eyes as the door closed and Naruto's footsteps retreated down the hall. With a small sigh, Sakura slipped her feet to the floor, but winced as she felt her leg throb from the knee up. She blinked when she saw that a white bandage had been wrapped around her thigh. Who had treated her wounds?

"Careful, the senbon got you pretty good." Sasuke's monotone voice reached Sakura's ears. She glanced up at him, surprised. Sasuke had done this?

"When did you…?" she began, but he didn't let her finish.

"Learn to do basic medical procedures? I've known for a while." he shrugged, watching her carefully as she tried to stand. His onyx gaze was worried, but Sakura didn't see this as she focused on seeing if she could put any pressure on her leg. She would walk dammit! She wasn't some helpless little girl who... A sharp cry from her made him quickly move closer and lift her into his arms before she hit the floor.

"Well, I guess walking is out of the question for me…" she sighed, her face a light shade of pink. But from embarrassment or the fact that he was carrying her, Sasuke didn't know. He wasn't about ask, either. _"Dammit all!" _she thought, hating the fact that she had to be carried.

**But it's **_**Sasuke-kun**_ **who's carrying us!** her inner chimed in a singsong voice.

_"Shut up."_ she snarled inwardly.

"You hungry?" Sasuke asked, snapping her out of her daze. Her inner's singsong voice faded into the back of her mind. "Tazuna had some food made this morning if you want something to eat." Sasuke went on, stepping towards the bedroom door.

"Actually, yes. I am hungry." she admitted, blushing when her stomach growled in agreement. He smirked.

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After they finished in the kitchen, Sasuke brought Sakura back to the room and she was able to walk, slowly and painfully, but she could still walk. _"Hallelujah! Thanks the gods!"_ she thought, grabbing a change of clothes and entering the bathroom. The sound of the running water soon filled the silence behind the bathroom door, and Sasuke stood, going out onto the balcony.

In the shower, Sakura was having quite a heated debated with her inner self. **Too bad! We could have gotten Sasuke to help us!** her inner smirked.

"_What? No!" Sakura_ thought, pushing away the idea at once.

**You know you wouldn't have minded.** she pressed and Sakura felt her face heat up with a blush. What the hell? Have Sasuke help her take a _shower_? What was wrong with her? He was such a prick. And he hated the fact that she was a hanyou. **Oh, c'mon. He was so kind to you after that battle with Zabuza.** her inner self huffed.

_"So? That was probably out of duty. I'm his teammate." _Sakura said back. Inner didn't have anything to say to that.

What if it had been, Naruto, though? **You think Naruto would have done all the things Sasuke has just because he's your teammate? **inner asked.

_"Of course! That's what teammates do!"_ the pinkette replied vehemently.

**Uh-huh, sure.** was all that inner said before disappearing into the depths of her mind.

Sakura shook her head and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water sooth away all the stress and aches in her body. The water ran red at her feet, but she barely noticed. Her thoughts drifted and she found herself in a meditative state. By the time she had finished showering and had changed into her clothes, the pain in her leg had diminished and it was a lot easier to walk. She opened the bathroom door, the steam billowing out behind her and cold air rushing forward to greet her. Looking around, she noticed the sliding glass door to the balcony was open. Sasuke must have gone out there. Sakura's feet were silent as she crossed the carpet and onto the concert outside on the balcony. "Hey…" she said quietly as she stepped out and stood against the railing, overlooking the glittering water. Sasuke sat in a chair beside her, facing the water.

He glanced up. "Hn."

The pinkette smiled wryly. His famous reply…she thought she would never be able to understand him, but it was so easy to decipher what he meant each time. Well, for her anyway. Naruto still got annoyed when he didn't get a straight answer to a question. The wind shifted and Sakura pulled herself up onto the railing, dangling her legs over the edge. It was so peaceful by the water…

"Thanks, Sasuke." she said softly.

"What for?" he asked. "I should be thanking you…you saved my life."

She smiled. "If you hadn't stopped me from using all my chakra, then I would be the one dead." was her reply. He grunted again and didn't say anything. She looked over her shoulder to see a thoughtful expression on his face. "So…" he finally said slowly, then looked over at her. "We're even?"

With a small chuckle, she nodded and looked ahead once more. "Yeah, we're even." she echoed, agreeing. Silence engulfed them again, but it wasn't awkward. In fact, it was comfortable and soothing. The kind of silence shared by comrades. The wind whistled in Sakura's ears and she flattened them back to lessen the noise. Beside her, Sasuke's attention was directed at her swaying tail. She felt his gaze on her and turned to look, but he turned his eyes away. Suddenly, with a loud bang of the door, one very hyperactive fox boy burst into the room and ran out onto the balcony.

"Oi, ready to go?" Naruto shouted.

Sakura sighed. Just like Naruto to barge in on a perfectly quiet moment. Turning, she dropped to the floor, but forgot the pain that crippled her leg and tripped with a startled yelp. Shutting her eyes, she braced for the impact of the hard concrete., but it never came. Sasuke had stood and caught her. She blushed, realizing how close they were. "Oops…" the hanyou muttered sheepishly, eyes averted. He didn't say anything, only smirked and steadied her by the arms.

"Ehem…if you two _lovebirds_ are quite done…" Naruto began. Sakura flushed and glared at him, quickly taking a step back.

"Naruto!" she growled, bonking him on the head. He only laughed and ran back into the bedroom and out the door. She followed, still scowling, and wondering at the reason behind the wide smirk that now adorned Sasuke's lips.

**Here we are! Chapter 2! I hope it's long enough...anyways, please R&amp;R! Let me know how I'm doing! And if you have any suggestions, feel free to PM me. ^-^ I'm also in need of a beta reader. Someone to point out my mistakes and such. Please PM me if you're interested!**


	3. Quiet

**Hey guys! Thanks for following! I got two reviews so far! That's honestly more than I expected for just the first 2 chapters lol. So thanks so much! I'm glad you're enjoying the story and it's my readers who keep me going. ^-^**

_**Tobee:**_** Haha, yes I guess she is kinda like Kiba. Just wait until he and Sakura get to interact! ;)**

_**Sapphire love:**_** Thank you! I'll update as fast as I can!**

Over the course of the next few weeks, team 7 grew ever closer, as did many of the members from the other teams. And while Sakura enjoyed the company of her teammates and friends, she still felt that she didn't belong. After all, she was a hanyou. Supposedly the last one, as it was.

Sakura supposed that she would always feel as if a part of her life was missing or didn't make sense.

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"Hey, where'd Sakura-chan go?" Naruto wondered, looking up from his tenth bowl of ramen. Beside him, Sasuke shrugged.

"I think she said something about exploring the forest outside the village walls." He muttered, finishing his ramen. Naruto turned back to his own meal.

"I hope she's okay." the blonde went on, frowning as he continued slurping up his lunch.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. The Uchiha wasn't particularly worried about Sakura's safety. He had been, but not anymore. He had watched her turn into a wolf and rip the throat out of an enemy as easily as if one would slice a piece of bread. No, he wasn't worried for her. He was sure that the hanyou could take care of herself.

Naruto finished his ramen and looked at his teammate. "I'm going to go look for Sakura. Are you coming?" he asked.

"No." was all that Sasuke said, standing and walking away. The dobe could go look for her by himself. Sasuke didn't see why Naruto was so worried. She was a hanyou. She would be fine on her own. He could hear Naruto grump to himself before running off. _"Idiot."_ Sasuke thought. Turning a corner, he began the walk back to the Uchiha mansion when a thought struck him sideways. Then it clicked. Naruto wasn't worried about Sakura being able to keep herself safe; he was worried about the safety of others. She hadn't mastered control over her wolf side, so any slight change in emotion could set off her shift, and a wolf running about in town would _not_ be a good thing.

"_Now who's the idiot?"_ Sasuke berated himself as he turned on his heel and began walking back the way he had come, his pace much quicker. He then began thinking of what he would say to Sakura. Kakashi had told her she shouldn't go off on her own for long until she had mastered control over the wolf!

Of course, Sakura never listened to anyone. She did what she wanted.

"Naruto!" Sasuke called as he spotted the blonde walking through the mill of civilians, headed for the village gates. The fox boy stopped and looked back, appearing surprised for a second, then he grinned widely.

"Oh, hey Sasuke. I thought you weren't going to come with me?" Naruto grinned.

"Shut up." The Uchiha replied sourly. He loathed to admit that he, Sasuke Uchiha, had actually made a mistake. So Naruto's big, triumphant grin was really grating on his nerves. "Let's get going." he grouched, heading out the gates. Naruto followed, still grinning.

It was a rather short walk. They found Sakura lounging lazily upon the branch of a great oak, her eyes closed, humming lightly to herself while her snowy tail swayed below her. She didn't seem to notice that Sasuke and Naruto had appeared. With an evil gleam in his blue eyes, Naruto crept closer and reached out one hand to grab ahold of her swinging tail. "Touch my tail, and you will lose that hand, Naruto." the pinkette spoke calmly, but the underlying threat in the tone of her voice was unmistakable.

"Ehehe…you really wouldn't…" Naruto began, laughing nervously as he dropped his hand.

Sakura opened her eyes and glanced down at him with a sharp-toothed grin. "Oh? Try me." she said. Naruto didn't want to lose his hand. And that grin on Sakura's face was anything but friendly.

"Nope. I'm good!" Naruto squeaked out.

Sasuke snorted, trying his best to hide his amusement. He turned his onyx gaze upwards to look at Sakura, and found her emerald orbs trained on him. Had he suspected anything and that's why he had followed her out here? She wondered if either of her teammates were even oblivious to her secret. They might even just be pretending that they didn't know. "Don't tell me you guys thought that I was going to lose control and end up wreaking havoc around the village?" she finally asked and raised one pink eyebrow.

"That's over exaggerating it a bit." Sasuke told her.

"I'm sure that Naruto was having those very thoughts."

"I was not!" the blonde gave an indigent shout.

Sasuke snorted. "You seemed to be pretty worried until we found Sakura."

"Well yeah. She's our teammate!"

Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other, one grinning, the other fighting a smirk. Teasing Naruto was really fun sometimes. Sakura jumped down from her perch and yawned, stretching her arms over her head. "So, you two came all this way just to find me?" she questioned. It seemed that they weren't aware of what she was up to when she was by herself out here.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted.

"Sure did!" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura smiled at the blonde's enthusiasm. He always had so much energy. Where did he get it all?

"Well, I guess I can head on back now." she said, and the trio began the trek back to the village, chatting and laughing the whole way. Well, Naruto talked, Sakura laughed, and Sasuke was the silent, brooding third wheel in the conversation.

S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S

"Hey, you know that the Chunnin exams will be starting soon." Ino took a bite of her ice cream and leaned back in the wicker chair that the small shop provided. Beside her, Hinata stop in mid-bite.

"Oh…y-yes, the Chunnin e-exams a-are very close n-now.." the Hyuuga stuttered quietly. Sakura and Tenten sat across from the two of them, eating a chocolate ice cream cone. They had all decided that a girl's day out would be good for them. They could get away from the stress of missions and male-only teammates.

"Do you think it will be difficult?" Tenten wondered.

Sakura spoke up, "I don't think so. At least, they will be challenging at best, but I'm sure that we all will do fine."

"Y-you are so..c-confident, S-Sakura-chan." Hinata sighed, looking down at the table. She wished that she could be as brave as Sakura was. Maybe then she could be worthy of being the clan heir that she was supposed to be.

"Oh, Hinata, you're brave too!" the pinkette reassured the pale-eyed girl. Ino nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you are. You'll be just fine!" the blonde said brightly. The girls continued chatting, and soon, they had all finished their ice cream and were walking leisurely down the cobblestone streets of Kohanagakure. The topic had switched to their male teammates and who liked who. "I think Asuma-sensie has a thing for Kurenai-sensie." Ino said conspiringly.

"What? Are you serious?" Tenten looked taken aback. Hinata and Sakura looked at Ino, interested.

"Yeah," Ino rolled her eyes. "He's always staring at her. It's a little creepy, if you ask me, but Shikamaru and Chouji don't want to believe me when I tell them about it."

Hinata giggled. "Asuna-sensie m-must b-be in l-love."

"Speaking of love. Naruto really likes you, huh, forehead?" Ino nudged the pink-haired hanyou with a grin.

"A little too much." Sakura replied with an annoyed roll of her eyes, but the fond smile that twitched at her lips showed that she really didn't mind that the blonde boy liked her so much. In fact, she was glad that someone accepted her for who she was.

"Just remember that Sasuke is still mine."

"Oh, c'mon Ino." Sakura said in exasperation. "You know that I don't like the arrogant asshole."

"Uh-huh. Sure. You say that now."

Tenten shook her head. "Not again, you two." Beside her, Hinata hid her mouth behind her hands and giggled quietly.

**So just a bit of an interlude there. It's a bit short, but don't worry, there's still more to come! Please, please, PLEASE review if you have time! I really like to hear from my readers, and I'm always open to constructive criticism!**

**Until next time! ~**


	4. Deceit

**I know it took me a while, but here's another chapter for you guys! Enjoy!**

_**Sapphire Love: Thank you for pointing out my typo! I hope you like this chapter!**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

It was finally time for the Chunin exams! Team 7 had been training really hard for this day. While preparations where being made, the three walked absently down the dirt paths, Naruto chattering the whole way. As usual, Sakura only pretended to listen as he went on and on about things she had no interest in. "Naruto-san!" a little kid called. It was Konohamaru, the Hokage's grandson.

"Oh, hey Konohamaru, wassup?" Naruto smiled at the boy as he ran over with his friends. The kid was looking very annoyed as he stopped in front of the blond.

"You said you were gonna play ninja with us!" he shouted.

Naruto looked sheepish as Sakura rolled her eyes and muttered, "A ninja, playing ninja?" Seriously? Naruto was such a kid sometimes. She often wondered how he managed to survive as a ninja.

"Pathetic." Sasuke snorted, earning a glare from the fox boy.

Konohamaru was pouting and waiting for Naruto to answer him. The blond turned and put a hand on the kid's shoulder. "Gomen, Konohamaru, but I can't play anymore. I'm a real ninja now!" he said, smiling.

"What? You graduated?" his eyes lit up and Naruto nodded. "Oh, so cool!"

Naruto grinned. "I know right?! I'm going to be the best ninja ever and one day, I'll become Hokage! Believe it!" both Sakura and Sasuke had started walking away by that time. "H-hey! Wait for me! Bye Konohamaru!" Naruto waved and raced off to follow his teammates.

"Hey, you wanna die kid?" a voice a few moments later made them all pause mid-step. Turning around to see what was going on, they saw that Konohamaru had run into a ninja with purple face paint and a puppet strapped to his back. "A puppet ninja…" Sakura muttered, almost thoughtfully. From Suna? They must be here for the exams, but that didn't give them the right to harass Konoha's citizens!

"Let him go!" Naruto yelled, glaring and pointing at the ninja.

The obvious sand nin glanced at the trio casually. "Why? He shouldn't have gotten in my way." he sneered. Sakura snarled lowly. Who did this guy think he was?! The sand ninja heard the snarl and looked up. His eyes widened when he saw her, but not from fear. "Wow, ain't you pretty?" he said, smirking at her. She frowned and bared her fangs at him.

"Let Konohamaru go." she growled, emerald eyes flashing dangerously. The ninja still didn't listen. She was debating threatening to bite his fingers off when a stone flew and smacked him in the hand.

"Ow! Hey!" he looked to see Sasuke in a tree and about ready to fling another stone at him. The sand nin's expression darkened as the Uchiha growled at him to let the kid go.

"Let him go, Kunkuro. Gaara will be angry with you." a female voice broke in, immediately diffusing the growing tension between Sasuke and the puppet ninja. A blond girl stood up on the fence, a giant fan opened behind her.

"But, Temari, we never get to have any fun!" the sand nin whined.

"We're not here to have fun..." a cold and sinister voice growled, and Sasuke nearly jumped, astonishment flitting over his features when he realized that a red-head was hanging upside down directly behind him. How had he not sensed this guy? Irritation quickly replaced Sasuke's surprise as he jumped down from the tree to rejoin his teammates. The purple face-painted ninja, Kankuro stuttered and dropped Konohamaru, who took refuge behind Naruto.

"G-Gaara! Gomen, I only wanted-!" the sand nin began, but the red-head cut him off.

"Shut up." he glared at him. Kankuro instantly subsided, cowed. He was clearly afraid of the red-head.

"What are you sand ninja doing here in Konoha?" Naruto shouted. The girl, Temari, chuckled.

"You Leaf nin are a lot dumber than we thought." she sneered. "Have you forgotten that the Chunin exams are today? Other ninja from all over will be entering." while she was speaking, Gaara's eyes strayed to Sakura. She locked eyes with him and a cold chill crept up her spine. What was this that she was sensing from him? She wondered at this as his eyes widened when he realized that she was a Hanyou. She couldn't decided if that was a good or bad thing.

"A Hanyou…" he muttered. Sakura frowned, snowy ears flattening back against her rose-colored hair. Why did he even care that she was a hanyou? He obviously wasn't one. Could it be that he was a…? No. He couldn't be. The Gaiden had been wiped out a long time ago. There was no way that this guy was one.

"This hanyou has a name, you know." the pinkette finally grumbled, flicking her tail in annoyance.

Gaara's blank mask slipped back into place. "Then what is it?" he questioned, though it sounded more like a demand. Arrogant little…

"Sakura Hurano." she stated anyway, her expression and tone guarded.

"My name is Sabaku No Gaara." he replied smoothly. He nodded at the other two sand ninja and they turned to go. "The name suites you." he smirked at Sakura before a whirlwind of sand engulfed him and he was gone.

Sakura blinked. _"What the hell?"_ she thought. What had that all been about? Without thinking, she glanced at Sasuke from the corner of her eye. He was scowling. Whatever for? Then Sakura remembered that the Uchiha heir didn't need a reason to scowl. He did it all the time without reason. Still, the questioned remained. Why had Gaara singled her out? Was it just because she was a hanyou?

**You think?** inner asked sarcastically.

Sakura sighed inwardly as she followed Sasuke and Naruto down the cobblestone paths. They were all headed for the ninja academy, where the start of the Chunnin exams were going to be held. _"Oh, shut it. I don't think that would really matter. If so, then he should be afraid of me."_ she thought to her inner self.

**He wouldn't be afraid. **was the reply.

"_Oh yeah? And why not?"_

**You didn't feel that, girl? He has a demon like Naruto does!**

Wait. What? _"That's what that was?"_ Sakura was shocked. She couldn't figure out what it was exactly that she had been sensing from the red-head. Now it all made sense. Especially the fact that he hadn't been fearful of her. Gaara was a demon host. He was a Jinchuuriki. Lost on thought, Sakura didn't notice when they entered the academy, where everyone was to take their exam. She was quiet until a blur of green zipped forward.

"Oh my gosh, you are so beautiful!" a cheerful voice said. The pinkette was brought back to reality, where she saw a black-haired boy with black eyes and a strange haircut standing in front of her with a bright, goofy smile. He had grasped her hands in his own.

"Uh…thanks?" she muttered, looking a little uneasy.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" the boy asked boldy. Oh boy. Sakura could almost feel the glare that Sasuke was shooting at them.

"Uhhh…" Sakura hesitated. She glanced at Sasuke's irritated scowl. "No," she said. "But I'm not looking for one." she pulled her hands away and took a step back. The boy looked crestfallen, but instantly recovered. _"Sheesh, he's almost just like Naruto." _she thought.

"That's fine! I'm Rock Lee, what is your name?" he asked.

"I'm Sakura." she replied, offering a small smile. Just like Naruto was right. The boy's cheerfulness was contagious and it made her feel less wary.

He grinned. "You're a Hanyou, correct?"So much for feeling cheerful.

She cringed slightly and replied, "Uhm, yes, I am." she turned her attention to the floor.

"Cool!" he smiled.

Surprised, she looked up, ears pricked in interest. "You think that, that's…cool?" she inquired, a slow, but open and bright smile appearing on her face. Almost everyone that she met was either afraid of her or unsure of how to react to her, so it was surprising - and delighting - to find someone so open-minded about her kind. Lee nodded, still grinning. Her smile grew and she laughed lightly. "Wow, I never met anyone who thought being a hanyou was COOL." she told him.

"Suck up…" Sasuke muttered under his breath.

The boy frowned a bit. "What was that?" he demanded, only to get a grunt in reply. "Oh, I see…you're obviously jealous." he placed his hands on his hips and grinned in triumph, oblivious to Sasuke's darkening aura. "I made Sakura-chan here smile and laugh. I bet you have never done such a thing!"

"Lee…" Sakura warned. Too late. Sasuke growled and lunged at the green, spandex-clad boy, fist aimed for his face. In a flash, Lee had dodged and kicked him up into the air. _"He's fast…!"_ Sakura thought, shocked. When both boys where on the ground and about to rush at each other again, Sakura leapt in between them, transforming midair into her white wolf form. She snarled lowly and stood there, head down, eyes on Lee as if to say, 'back off'. He paused, then stepped back and looked away. _A sign of weakness…_some ancient voice whispered in the back of her mind. Ignoring the voice, she looked back at Sasuke, eyes telling him that he'd been wrong too. He sighed and nodded, stepping back, but didn't not break her gaze. With one final warning growl, Sakura trotted into another room and returned, human and wearing borrowed clothes. She placed her hands on her hips. "We'll see you when the exams begin, Lee." she said; a hint that he should leave. He hesitated. When her gaze remained firm, he nodded and turned, heading for the stairs. With a sigh, Sakura looked at Sasuke. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she questioned, but her tone level stayed calm and even.

"Yeah, dude…you like, snapped!" Naruto exclaimed, blue eyes wide in surprise. He'd never seen Sasuke lose control like that.

The Uchiha shrugged. "I really don't know." he mumbled quietly. Sakura raised a brow, but said nothing more. He wasn't lying…

"Well, we had better get going." the pinkette finally said, waving away their discussion. Sasuke was acting strangely, but she decided that it was none of her concern. The next time he wanted to pick a fight, she wasn't going to stop him from getting his ass beat.

S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S

After completing the written exam, Team 7 found themselves standing just outside the gates of the Forest of Death with all the other exam students. "Huh…funny how they want us to become great ninja, but they send us into a place like this for the test." Sakura commented as she gazed up at the towering, dark trees behind the fence. This forest was teeming with dangers around every corner. "Should be fun."

"It's awfully dark in there…" Naruto gulped. The rose-haired hanyou cocked an eyebrow at him. Was Naruto afraid of the dark? Oh, this would make things _so_ much more interesting.

"C'mon scardy cat." Sasuke teased as the gates swung open and all the teams took off into the forest. Naruto followed with a loud, indignant shout about how he was so NOT a scardy cat and that he would whup Sasuke any day.

Sakura snorted. "Baka." she said.

"Sakura-chan! You're so mean!" Naruto whined.

"I know." she grinned in reply, emerald eyes glinting with mirth. Teasing Naruto was always so much fun. As the trio continued on through the forest, they suddenly realized that they were being followed. They had been for a while now, actually, and Sasuke was clearly growing tired of it. Stopping on the ground, they looked about.

"Show yourself!" Sasuke ordered. Out of the shadows came a silver-haired ninja with glasses. His headband showed that he was a sound nin from Otogakure. "Why are you following us?" demanded Sasuke, a scowl etched on his features. He didn't know who this guy was, but already he disliked him.

"I want to help you." the ninja replied. "My name is Kabuto."

All three teammates cast the silver-haired ninja a suspicious look. "Why would you want to help us?" Sakura questioned.

He smirked. "Because I consider only a few teams of any competition, and yours is one of them." he replied smugly. "So in order to have an actual challenge, I've decided to help you." The pinkette rolled her eyes. Typical male ego.

"Well where is your team?" Naruto wondered, looking around.

Kabuto gave a shrug. "They are searching for the scroll that we need on their own." Still feeling slightly suspicious, the team and the sound nin took off through the trees once more. They had gone a little ways when Naruto disappeared.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, annoyed. "This is no time for playing games!"

Silence.

Sasuke growled and kept walking. "That dobe." he muttered darkly. "Let's just go and leave him behind. If he wants to goof off, then let him." Just then, as if on cue, the blond came bounding over to them, looking sheepish.

"Sorry, guys." he laughed nervously. "I kinda got lost."

Sakura eyed him suspiciously, not really listening to his words. He smelled…different. This wasn't Naruto. Naruto didn't smell like a snake. "You're not Naruto." she snarled lowly, taking a few steps back from him and baring her fangs in warning.

"Sakura, what do you mean?" Sasuke asked, appearing confused. He didn't have her sense of smell, so the boy in front of him didn't seem to be any different than the blonde idiot that he knew. The 'Naruto' chuckled and suddenly became a tall man with long, black hair and snake-like eyes as he dropped his henge. Sasuke stared, taken aback. Who the heck was this guy?

"Orochimaru." Sakura growled.

The dark-haired man chuckled. "Heh, I see you remember me." he hissed.

"Like I would forget the one who tried to kill me?" the hanyou shot back, glaring daggers at him, a snarl rumbling in her chest. The snake chuckled again and Sakura's snarl intensified.

"That's right. I really should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance." his yellow eyes narrowed. "However, you still would be useful to me. My offer still stands." he hissed at her.

She glowered. "Never."

"If only I had managed to kill you…" he sighed, placing a pale hand dramatically to his forehead. "Then I wouldn't have to deal with you getting in the way now."

"You cannot stop destiny." was her retort.

"No," he grinned slyly. "But one can always alter it."

Sakura snarled and nearly lunged at him. "Don't you dare!" she trembled with the effort of keeping herself from springing at him. As much as she wanted to rip his throat out, Orochimaru was too strong for her to take down alone. And he knew it, too. Smiling darkly, he turned his attention to the Uchiha.

"I know about your clan, Sasuke." he hissed in a low whisper. "And I can help you get your revenge."

"Stop messing with his head, you bastard!" Sakura screeched. "And what the hell did you do with Naruto?!" she was furious. How dare this snake show his face after all these years? How dare he! And of all things, he was messing with her teammates!

It was then that Sakura realized Kabuto was nowhere in sight.

"Sakura!" Sasuke's warning came a little too late, and the pink-haired hanyou found herself flat on her back, the silver-haired ninja pinning her down. Oh, for the love of...she knew there had been something suspicious about Kabuto! She snarled and struggled to throw him off of her, but he was much heavier than she was, and so she couldn't get away.

That left Sasuke to face the snake sannin alone.

**This one actually took me a little while. I wasn't sure if I should write about the Chunnin exams. Would it be boring? But then I just decided to go for it and added little differences in there. I hope it was good!**

**Please R&amp;R!**


	5. Interlude

**Ah, life. Why do you always become chaotic just when I really don't need you to? Now that things have calmed down, I can continue with this next chapter!**

_**Sapphire Love:**_** Thanks so much for pointing out my typos. You've been a great help! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story. :3**

_**SakuXbliss:**_** Glad you like it so far! Thanks!**

**Now, onward to the story!**

**Disclaimer: Yeah. I know. Naruto isn't mine. This plushie I have is, though.**

RECAP

"I know about your clan, Sasuke." Orochimaru hissed in a low whisper. "And I can help you get your revenge."

"Stop messing with his head, you bastard!" Sakura screeched. "And what the hell did you do with Naruto?!" she was furious. How dare this snake show his face after all these years? How dare he! And of all things, he was messing with her teammates!

It was then that Sakura realized Kabuto was nowhere in sight.

"Sakura!" Sasuke's warning came a little too late, and the pink-haired hanyou found herself flat on her back, the silver-haired ninja pinning her down. Oh, for the love of...she knew there had been something suspicious about Kabuto! She snarled and struggled to throw him off of her, but he was much heavier than she was, and so she couldn't get away.

That left Sasuke to face the snake sannin alone.

S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S

"Urgh, why that little…!" Naruto growled and complained as he worked at the ropes binding his hands. How stupid to get caught off guard like that! "I knew that guy was no good!" the blonde grumbled out loud, finally getting his hands free. He stood up. Kabuto was so getting some payback! Taking off through the trees, he eventually came across the scene between his team and Orochimaru. "Sakura-chan! Sasuke!" Naruto shouted as she charged into the fray.

Sasuke looked up. That dobe! Just jumping in like that. He was going tp get himself killed! "Tch." the Uchiha tore his gaze from the blonde and looked back at the snake before him.

"Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura yelled. Still pinned beneath Kabuto, she returned her attention to the silver-haired ninja and attempted to throw him off of her again. As far as she could tell, his job was to keep her out of the way, and he was doing a damn good job of it, too. _"Dammit!"_ the hanyou thought, turning her head and sinking her teeth into Kabuto's arm. With a yell, he jerked back, and Sakura seized the opportunity to kick him away. _"Ha! Take that four-eyes!"_ she thought triumphantly.

Kabuto glared at her and stalked forward. "That hurt." he said, pretending to pout.

"Good." Sakura bared her fangs.

The silver-haired ninja's gaze hardened. "You'll never win. You know that, right?" She didn't bother to reply. Instead, she whirled around and ran off to help her teammates. If he wanted to stand there and talk, she wasn't going to hang around. She knew he wanted to stall her. Keep her from Sasuke and Naruto. So she had to get to them as soon as possible! Orochimaru could tell that the Uchiha brat was tiring. Good. What wasn't good, was that Kabuto had let the hanyou escape him. Narrowing his eyes, Orochimaru swiftly made the hand seals for his jutsu. It was now or never.

With a curse, Kabuto took off after Sakura. He needed to stop her! Orochimaru had yet to finish his jutsu and he had to keep her from interrupting him. He chased after her, running as fast as he could, but she was faster, and soon outran him, but for all her efforts, she was too late.

Sakura stood, rooted to the spot. Orochimaru had already gotten the curse mark on Sasuke.

"Let's go Kabuto." Orochimaru hissed, stepping back into the shadows and leaving Sasuke writhing on the forest floor with the curse mark glowing on his neck. The sound nin vanished in a moment and, seeing that Naruto had been knocked out, Sakura found herself the only one awake and aware. Dropping to her knees, Sakura let Sasuke grip her hand so tightly that the bones creaked, but she didn't care. _"Orochimaru…I will kill you." _the hanyou thought darkly. _"If it's the last thing I do, I will have your head."_

S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S

The chirp of a bird echoed through the dark forest. Sakura watched as it flew by, alighted on a tree branch, and darted off again. She blinked slowly. Tiredness had crept into her. For what reason, she didn't know. It wasn't as if she had used very much chakra. So why was she so exhausted? She had found a sheltered tree and brought her teammates there. Both of them were out cold, and it didn't look like they would be awakening any time soon. She frowned as she looked down at Sasuke. At least he seemed he was going to survive the curse seal…

A flutter of leaves caught her attention.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a haughty voice asked, and the pinkette glanced up. The sound team, Team Dosu, stood at the edge of the trees, their leader, Dosu, smirking widely. Sakura frowned. She really disliked Sound ninja. They knew how to mess with a hanyou's hearing.

"What do you want?" she growled lowly.

Zaku stepped forward. "We know your team has the Earth Scroll. We have the Heaven Scroll, and we need yours." he grinned.

"So? It's not like I'm just going hand it over to you idiots." she snorted, glaring at them.

Dosu chuckled and walked closer. "I had hoped that you'd say that." he said. He strode confidently forward, and Sakura tensed. Would the traps she set up work? Dosu stopped, expression darkening as he narrowed his eyes. His gaze was calculating. Cold. Revealing a device that was strapped to his arm, he began a series of hand seals. A high pitched squeal came from the device and blew all her traps away or set them off. Sakura winced not only at the sound, but at the fact that he'd discovered her. Just great.

**You shouldn't have tensed.** inner muttered.

_"Shut up, I don't need your input right now."_ the pink-haired girl shot back. She slowly rose to her feet, staring at the Sound team that stood before her.

"You really thought a few little traps like that would have stopped me?" Dosu sneered.

Sakura growled in reply. "No, but it was worth a shot." she smirked, openly mocking him with a barb at his intelligence. He glared at her. "What? No snappy comeback?" she asked smugly. He roared and rushed towards her. In a flash, she'd stood up and blocked his path, swinging her leg around in a solid roundhouse kick. Surprised, he barely managed to block it and stumbled back a few feet.

**Lucky…** inner hissed.

Sakura ignored her inner self. She needed to focus. Why though, did she feel so damn tired? She launched another kick. This time, Dosu caught her leg and threw her back. With a grunt, she twisted and regained her balance, throwing a punch at his face. She caught him on the jaw, but didn't see Zaku appear behind her. The wailing of the device on his arms made her shriek and cover her sensitive ears. Kin took the advantage. She grabbed ahold of Sakura's hair and dragged her to the ground. "Heh, your hair is so much softer than mine. Is that because you're a half-breed?" she sneered, laughing. Sakura growled and pulled out a Kunai. Kin snorted, "What do you think you can do to me with that?" she demanded.

"Who said it was for you?" Sakura questioned with a grim, determined smile. Kin gasped in astonishment as the pinkette reached back and cut her own hair, freeing herself from the Sound nin's grasp. Quickly, Sakura raced off after Zaku, who was going after Sasuke. He made a sound of shock as she punched him, sending him sprawling back a few feet. With a growl, he returned the blow. She stumbled, but used that to her advantage as she performed the substitution jutsu. Like any ninja, he would attempt to predict her moves. Unfortunately for him, Sakura could be very unpredictable when she really wanted to be. Making the signs for a substitution, a poof of smoke surrounded her and Zaku looked around, searching for her.

"Where are you gonna appear next, huh?" he wondered out loud. As the smoke cleared, Sakura came down on him from above, having left the jutsu incomplete. She aimed a kunai at his jugular. "Gah, you bitch!" he yelled, cursing as she landed on him. He threw an arm up, knocking her kunai away, so she dug her fangs into his arm and held on, groping for another kunai. He punched at her, trying to get her off, but could not. Finally, Kin and Dosu came to his aid and they knocked her aside. She glared up at them as Zaku ranted angrily and stood up, setting his deadly intentions on her.

Sakura knew that she needed to keep fighting. She couldn't let them get the scroll or attack her teammates, but she was just so tired… "Sakura-chan!" a voice called.

"_Huh?"_ she thought oh-so-smartly.

"Sakura-chan, we are here to help! Yosh!"

It was Team Gai, and the hanyou was never so relieved to see a green spandex-clad boy with a bad haircut coming to her and her teammate's rescue. She gave a half-hearted wave as team Gai rushed forward to clash with team Dosu. Dosu managed to evade attention for a few moments, but a few moments was all he needed. He raised his arm with the sound device and a high-pitched squeal emitted, ringing through the air. Everyone beside his team dropped to the forest floor, hands covering their ears at the noise. Sakura, with her heightened senses, screamed and fell to her knees. This was why she hated Sound teams! Zaku took the advantage and attacked, seeking his revenge. "Sakura!" Lee exclaimed, gritting his teeth and trying to get up.

"No you don't!" Neji growled, forcing his way to his feet and launching himself at the sound nin, open palm slamming into his shoulder. Hanyou or not, Sakura was an ally, and he would be damned if he, a Hyuuga, allowed an ally to be injured in his presence. Finally, the ringing came to an end and the fight continued. However, it soon came to an abrupt standstill when a menacing chakra began filling the air. It was coming from Sasuke! And his chakra was so heavy that it swirled around him in a purple cloud.

Sakura shivered. _"That's not Sasuke's chakra." _she thought to herself. In fact, that wasn't Sasuke. The curse seal was in control.

"Sakura…" the Uchiha looked to her, his voice low and sinister. His eyes took in her appearance. "Who did this?"

Her gaze flitted to Zaku and back to Sasuke. "Team Dosu…attacked." the pinkette replied quietly, staring up at him. So this was what the curse seal looked like. It was overpowering. She could hardly move. Sasuke's chakra shifted as he turned toward Zaku. He had caught how Sakura had glanced at the Sound nin. So it was him. He had done this. He would pay. Flash-stepping behind Zaku, the Uchiha gripped the Sound ninja's arms and yanked them back, causing the bones to snap.

"I wonder how well you can fight without these?" the raven head growled.

"Sasuke!" Sakura's voice cut through the haze that clouded his mind. He paused. The hanyou had thrown her arms around him from behind, as if to pull him away. "Stop. Sasuke-kun, this isn't you." she said softly. Releasing Zaku's arms, Sasuke slowly turned around as the purple chakra faded. Behind him, Zaku backed away and he and his team fled.

"Sakura...I-" Sasuke stopped his own words. What could he say? What was there to say? Sakura solved his problem for him.

"You scared the bejeebus out of me!" she chided, shaking a finger at him as she let him go and stepped back to look up at him. "C'mon then. Let's get Naruto up and get going." she turned to Team Gai, who had gathered together. Sasuke stood there for a moment, then stuffed his hands into his pockets and tromped away to wake up Naruto. "Thanks guys." Sakura smiled at Gai and his team. "You really saved our asses back there."

"Anything for you, Sakura-chan!" Lee exclaimed brightly.

Neji snorted at Lee's response and gave the hanyou a nod, but didn't say anything. "Glad you're all okay." Tenten gave a thumbs up and smiled. Beside her, Gai nodded enthusiastically.

"The power of youth will always overcome any hardship!" he said loudly. Sakura shook her head, amused.

"Well, see you all around." she said, then turned and went over to her teammates. Team Gai went off on their own, and soon after, Team 7 departed for their destination.

"Maaaan, it sucks that we didn't get a scroll after all." Naruto whined glumly.

Sakura grinned. "Who said we didn't get a scroll?" she asked, waving a rolled up scroll in front of him. It had 'heaven' written on it. Naruto beamed, ecstatic. Yes! They had gotten a scroll! Wait...how had they gotten a scroll? He looked at Sakura.

"How...?" he began.

"Idiot," Sasuke interjected. "Team Dosu dropped it when they were fighting Team Gai, and Sakura saw it and picked it up."

"Oh." was all the fox boy said, and Sasuke harrumphed and continued walking. Naruto raced ahead, shouting something about beating them to the tower. As Sasuke passed Sakura, he pulled lightly on the end of a lock of her hair.

"You cut it." he commented.

She blinked. "Huh? Oh...yeah." she replied. What was he going on about? Stuffing his hands back into his pockets, the Uchiha headed off after Naruto. Sakura watched him for a moment, curious.

"I like it."

What? "That's surprising." the hanyou thought, astounded. Was Sasuke sick? Was it the curse mark? She stood there, at a loss for words. "H-hey, wait up..!" she shook herself from her surprised thoughts, realizing that she was being left behind and ran to catch up with her teammates.

S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S&amp;S

The second part of the tournament was to be one-on-one battles. Everyone had their name paired with someone else randomly and they would have to fight to pass on to the next round. Sasuke and Naruto both won theirs, but the curse mark that now adorned Sasuke's neck began acting up, and Kakashi whisked him away. Ino and Sakura faced off, but in the end, they knocked each other out and the match ended in a tie. After all was said and done, the Genine were given a little break to prepare for the finals.

Sakura went with Naruto to the Itcharaku for lunch one day, but her thoughts were somewhere else. "…win, you know that, right Sakura?" The hanyou turned to look at him, only just registering that he had been speaking to her.

"What? Oh! Sorry, Naruto, I really wasn't paying attention." she admitted sheepishly.

He whined, but then said, "It's alright. The Chunnin exams must be on your mind. Man, this is the hardest…" his voice trailed off as the pinkette drifted into her thoughts again. Actually, she wasn't thinking about the exams at all. A certain Uchiha was on her mind, and it wasn't Sasuke. There was someone else. And she needed to see them as soon as she could. The creaking of the seat next to her drew Sakura from her thoughts. She looked up. It was Sabaku No Gaara. He ate ramen, too? Must be a Jinchuuriki thing.

"Erm…ohayo, Gaara-san." the hanyou said, lifting a hand in greeting. There was something about him and it wasn't just the fact that he harbored a demon. He looked over and nodded at her. His eyes landed on Naruto and she tilted my head curiously as his teal gaze became a little more intense. Of course. His demon must be telling him about the Kyuubi.

"Sakura, you know that he has a demon, too?" Naruto tapped her shoulder, whispering. She turned to face him.

"Yeah, I know. Why?"

He shrugged and slurped up another bite of ramen. "I dunno…just curious, I guess. I didn't know if you could tell or not."

"Naruto, I'm a hanyou." she grinned, fangs glinting in the sunlight. "Of course I can tell." she flicked an ear back in Gaara's direction, sure that he was listening. He didn't seem anything but intrigued as she and Naruto spoke of the Biju. "You know…we should get some training in. Even I need it, though I'm not in the finals." Sakura finally said, standing up and placing a few bills on the counter.

"Hey, Sakura! Can you-!"

"Nope." she turned and headed out, ignoring Naruto's puppy dog eyes. "I'm not paying for you. You should take care of yourself." he began to whine, but she paid no attention. The boy had his own money! He was_ so_ not mooching off of her! As she passed by Gaara, she glanced at him and said, "See you at the exams…Gaara." then, without waiting for a reaction, she flicked her tail and exited the ramen stand.

**There we go. Chapter five! Hope it was good!**

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